We’ve got two fresh matches as we stay in Blackpool for the fall-out from Takeover: Blackpool.
The show opens with the “in memory of” Rocky Johnson graphic, then highlights of Takeover from the crowd, including Trent being Severn Bridged onto some poor sap, a load of dives, and the Undisputed Era’s run-in. I still contest that should have aired at the start of this show, rather than the end of Takeover and overshadow everything underneath it…
They’re still using that song that sounds like they’re screaming “run away” at you, as we get a slideshow from Takeover. Expect plenty of that.
A-Kid vs. Joseph Conners
A-Kid’s got a flashy new studded vest. One of the perks of a contract, I guess! Meanwhile, Joseph Conners gets an upgrade: he’s pre-show worthy…
A-Kid starts out by taking down Conners for an armbar, but there’s a quick break as Conners tries one of his own. They switch back and forth as A-Kid gets caught in headscissors on the mat, only to escape as he looked for a crucifix pin… getting a one-count. Another armdrag off the ropes follows, as does a dropkick, before Conners retaliated by bulldogging A-Kid into the bottom turnbuckle. Conners followed that up with a slingshot bulldog as he butchered the line from Wayne’s World. A suplex is good for some two-counts, as was a Falcon arrow, but A-Kid’s right back with a dropkick as he looked to find a second wind… following up with a folding German suplex. An O’Connor roll’s blocked, but the Northern Lights wasn’t, before Conners attempt to powder earned him a tope on the floor… and almost bruised a security guard.
Back inside, Conners rolled away as A-Kid went up top, before a slingshot DDT was countered with a superkick. That opened the door for A-Kid to do a dive, landing a nice springboard moonsault to the floor. A-Kid goes for a crossbody back in the ring, but it’s caught as he had to escape a Don’t Look Down before a crucifix bomb just about came off for a near-fall. Kicks from A-Kid had Conners almost folding back on himself, before Conners came back with an Awful Waffle of all things?! A tiltawhirl backbreaker’s next, but Conners moonsaults into a trapped armbar from A-Kid, only for Conners to roll out… and get rolled up again for a near-fall. Another small package gets a near-fall as A-Kid was clawing for a win, going for a backslide, but Conners kicks out the knee and goes straight to the Don’t Look Down for the win. This was pretty good, even if the crowd doesn’t give a stuff about Conners – they’re doing something with him, but I sense some character building would make this more effective. ***¼
They show Trent Seven confronting Eddie Dennis after their match on Sunday. There’s a lot of HEY from the refs…
Next week: promo time with Imperium. Also: Ilja Dragunov “in action”. Enjoy that, York!
They replay highlights from the ladder match… then we’ve a promo from Mark Coffey and Wolfgang, celebrating retaining their titles. How are they likeable? We then jump back to a storyline you’ve probably forgotten – the disagreements between Jinny and Jazzy Gabert. Amale’s reduced to a “local competitor” (how close is Paris to Brentwood, guys?) during this recap, and we’ll find out next week as Killer Kelly faces Jazzy Gabert. Oh no.
A recap of the NXT UK women’s title match followed, as we get words from Toni Storm from after the match. She’s beside herself, seeing the result as being robbed of a win… and this sounds almost like she’s about to lose her mind. She’s gonna try and beat Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s title in a little over a week… Loose Cannon Toni Storm, anyone?
MORE RECAPS. They condense WALTER vs. Joe Coffey down into about a minute. With plenty of CHOPS, and build for Undisputed Era vs. Imperium at Worlds Collide… which bled into a promo with Sid Scala and Johnny Saint. Sid tells us the NXT UK representatives for the Worlds Collide match will be Travis Banks or Brian Kendrick, and Ligero or Jordan Devlin. They’ll be on next week’s NXT UK. That’s looking like a stacked show…
Kassius Ohno vs. Dave Mastiff
Tom Phillips is caught out by Ohno’s recent rebrand, and we have a measured start as Mastiff went for a knucklelock on Ohno, powering him down to the mat.
Ohno headbutts himself free and went into a wristlock… which gets reversed as Mastiff lifts Ohno to the mat and goes for a wristlock of his own. Mastiff stalks Ohno as he rolled onto the apron, as they teased a German suplex to the floor before Ohno got into the ring, stripped Mastiff’ singlet to trap his arm and threw the big lad into the ring post. Ohno throws some shots as Mastiff was holding his shoulder, then went to the cravat, following up with rolling sentons before going back to the hold. The crowd’s silent, save for their reaction to Ohno mocking them, as Mastiff hits a backdrop driver to get out of the cravat. Mastiff hits some rolling sentons of his own, then a back senton for a near-fall, before Ohno adjusted himself to counter a cannonball into a pinning attempt.
More back sentons from Ohno backfire as Mastiff caught him and turned Ohno into a German suplex, before he headed up to the middle rope. Ohno catches him with a chop to the throat, then joined him in the corner for another cravat… but Mastiff countered by switching him up for an avalanche Finlay roll, before a cannonball finished him off. On paper this was fine, but the pace was a little tough at times. Big lads wrestling, but not as we know it in 2020… **½
That’s all for your post-Takeover NXT – all of 36 minutes long! It was your typical post-Takeover comedown show – the usual mix of recaps and matches might well leave you cold, but next week’s show looks extremely stacked… even if the Jazzy and Ilja matches look likely to be squashes…